The Tay River watershed, covering a drainage area in excess of 800 square kilometers, is the westmost of the 6 recognized subwatersheds managed by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

Abbott, Barton, Carnahan, Clow, Danby, Duncan, Eagle, Elbow, Leggat, Little Beaver, Little Mud, Long, Miller, Oconto, Scanlin, Spruce, Watson Atwood, Beaver, Bobs & Crow, Buck Bay, Burns Pond, Christie, Crosby, Davern, Deer, Doran, Farrell, Green Bay, Lake of the Hills, Little Crosby, Little Rock, Little Silver, Little Twins, Lynn, Mud Bay, O’Brien, Pike, Rainbow, Rock (north), Sucker, Thompson Pond, Victoria, Weatherhead Andrew, Doctor McLaren, Mills, Mud, Otty, Rock (south), Thoms Mud The Tay River was formed during the retreat of the Champlain Sea after the last ice age.

The name given to it by the Mississauga First Nation, who controlled its territory at the time of the arrival of the first European settlers, appears to have not been recorded.

Early European settlers called it the Pike River; the name Tay replaced it at some time during the arrival of many Scottish settlers after the founding of the Perth Military Settlement in 1816, doubtless in reference to the River Tay in Scotland.

[7] Mills on the Tay, the Tay Canal, and more broadly the resultant access to the Rideau Canal system provided important commercial connections from Frontenac and Lanark Counties to Ottawa and markets beyond, in particular for logging.